I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to yard tools. More particularly, the present invention relates to a quick connect rake system that pivotally couples two rakes or similar yard tools together for cooperative use. Relevant prior art may be found in United States Class 56 and the many subclasses listed thereunder.
II. Description of the Prior Art
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, rakes and other yard tools are well known. Generally, these types of tools are designed to be used singularly around the yard to sweep leaves, debris or trash into piles for removal. The piles are often manually picked up and placed in trash bags or mulching bins.
However, many times it is undesirable to lift the piles by hand to transfer or remove them. The prior art teaches several devices that facilitate remotely lifting the debris or leaves. One such device is U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,966, issued Aug. 31, 1971, to Kerry. This patent discloses a rake that has a hand operated rake section that linearly moves from a retracted position to an advanced position. When the rake section moves to the advanced position, it holds the leaves or debris between itself and the other rake head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,397, issued to Fiorentino on Jul. 26, 1977, teaches a combination rake and pickup device that comprises two opposing rake heads. The rakes heads are permanently pivotally interconnected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,448, issued Jan. 29, 1980, to Blanco, discloses a rake having two opposing rake heads that lock to allow one of the heads to be used as a rake.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,370, issued to Russell on Oct. 22, 1991, teaches a rake having a pick-up element that is hingedly attached to the rear side of the rake. The pick-up element is vertically displaced from the rake head.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,410, issued Feb. 22, 1972, to Menning teaches a pair of leaf rakes that are permanently pivotally attached.
All of these devices facilitate picking up or transferring of debris or leaves. Some of the above referenced prior art patents even allow the device disclosed to be used as an ordinary rake. However, the prior art fails to teach a device that permits the temporary coupling of a pair of yard tools, such as a pair of rakes. Ideally, the coupling would allow both tools to be used normally and to be coupled quickly for use as a pickup device.